Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

We want to ensure ordinary workers will have adequate pensions when they retire. Will the Minister outline his views on allowing those workers to withdraw 25% of the funds into which they paid during their working lives tax free on retirement, thereby reducing their funds by 25%? Does it serve the workers well?

We are concerned about the low incomes people will have to live on when they retire. One way to increase the pension is by doing away with the drawdown of the 25% lump sum, thereby keeping the pension fund at 100%. It will ensure people have a larger pension on a weekly basis. While this may not be popular, most people use their lump sum to put new windows on the house, pay for a son or daughter's wedding or take a nice holiday. That is welcome, but it is not what a pension is supposed to do. A pension is supposed to look after a person in old age. Will the Minister comment on whether we should examine this issue? I advocate that we do so.

We will have further debates on pensions in the House. Unless we can ensure that we can provide protection for pension schemes, fewer people will pay into them because far too many people have found the pension fund they paid into over the years was worth little when they came to retirement. If we want to provide incentives we must consider how we will protect such schemes.